|
![Violent protesters storming the US Capitol on January 6 2021]()
Violent protesters stormed the US Capitol on January 6 2021 © AP
I
profoundly wish this were an inaccurate headline. As I have said
before, the future of US democracy is on the line. Moreover, what
happened on January 6 last year is likely to be tried again — probably
more effectively — unless the organisers of last year’s failed putsch
are legally held to account. Swampians interested in further discussion
on this subject might want to listen to this Twitter spaces conversation between myself, Peter Spiegel, Lauren Fedor and James Politi.
Unfortunately
most Americans do not agree that their republic hangs in the balance,
or else they do but aren’t particularly bothered. It’s hard to say which
is more troubling. Either way, we should remind ourselves that history,
for better or worse, is usually made by small numbers of motivated
people. Most others are too busy with their lives to take part.
Today
is no exception. I have lived in Washington, DC through some historic
dramas. It is thus drummed into me that America’s capital is pretty much
the last place to be if you want to gauge what most Americans are
feeling. For the most part, Washington is still a company town that is
stuffed to the gills with political junkies who care more about opinion
polls than reality TV — which is why they were among the last to take
Donald Trump seriously.
Over
the past few days, cable TV and newspapers have devoted most of their
time and space to the January 6 anniversary and the speeches given by
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris from the Capitol. The vice-president
compared January 6 to the September 11 terror attacks and the December 7
assault on Pearl Harbor.
She may be right. But most Americans are not acting like these events are remotely comparable. In a recent Axios poll,
17 per cent of Americans cited democracy as their most important issue,
well behind the 31 per cent who cited jobs and the economy. A large
chunk of those concerned about democracy have postgraduate degrees. By
contrast just 9 per cent of those without college degrees view the
future of US democracy as a concern.
Another recent Pew poll
put “improving the political system” fifth on the list of US voter
concerns behind the economy, coronavirus, jobs and terrorism. For my
purposes here, those numbers tell you most of what you need to know. To
find out more, my colleague Lauren Fedor has a succinct report on how Democrats have failed to galvanise voters over January 6.
So
what is to be done? My answer is a little counterintuitive. Some things
are more important than short-term popularity. Democrats should
redouble their efforts to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John
Lewis Act — the two bills that would make it easy to vote and protect
the US electoral college from the kind of subversion that nearly worked a
year ago.
Without
a functioning democracy, most Americans will be even less likely to get
the things they do say they care about, such as better healthcare,
statutory sick and parental leave, workplace rights and a living wage. I
understand why people are more concerned about those things. Arguments
about whether to label last year’s events as a coup, or merely a riot,
must sound esoteric when you are wondering whether you can leave your
kids at home to make ends meet. Much of America’s seeming apathy on this
issue stems itself from richly-earned cynicism about US democracy.
Most
Americans have for decades said they wanted such protections yet the
system has consistently failed to deliver. Americans aren’t stupid, as a
lot of foreigners — and indeed postgraduate Americans — seem to
believe. They are distracted and cynical. And they experience the
shortcomings of US democracy a lot more directly than the denizens of
DC.
But
some values, such as protecting America’s highly imperfect democratic
system, are too critical to be left to the polls. Rana, I don’t know
whether you, or any Swampians, were among the millions who watched the
movie Don’t Look Up over the break. I thoroughly recommend it
as a jaundiced comedic take on our age of fake news. Critics have
debated whether the asteroid represented climate change or a deadlier
pandemic. That lethal rock could just as well stand for autocracy. When
your existence, or way of life, is at stake, it doesn’t really matter if
most people are more riveted by astrology than astronomy. The only sane
thing to do is to divert the asteroid. With that cheerfully amended
ending to the movie, I wish you all a happy 2022. |